Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Waltz garden

How to play Say Something on piano

By A Great Big World

  • D major
  • 3/4
  • 144 BPM
  • 2011
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Moon River rollRight hand Waltz chordsChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

Learn Say Something in 5 steps

The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.

  1. 1

    Chords: D – Bm – Bm – G

    Say Something sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: D is D, F# and A; Bm is B, D and F#; G is G, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    DIBmviBmviGIV
    • DD · F# · A
    • BmB · D · F#
    • GG · B · D
  2. 2

    Left hand: Moon River roll

    A wide, flowing roll in three, the Moon River feel. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4) (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 441 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Waltz chords

    A chord on each of the three beats: a simple waltz. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 144 BPM

    Put the two hands together over the loop. Start at half speed with the player's speed control, and bring it up once every change is easy.

  5. 5

    Ending: G – A – D

    The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    GAD
    • AA · C# · E

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Questions about Say Something

What chords are in Say Something?

The loop is D – Bm – Bm – G (I – vi – IV – I) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is Say Something in?

D major, at about 144 beats a minute in 3/4.

What does the left hand play in Say Something?

Moon River roll: open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Say Something easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Say Something?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the opening of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.